Tantasqua board: We want MCAS

The Tantasqua Regional School Committee is pushing for state legislation to overturn the state Board of Education’s decision to adopt the National Educational Standards.

“My concerns remain, one, we’re dumbing down state standards; two, the increased costs on schools because we would have to have a new curriculum, a new testing; and, the third, you’re letting a bunch of faceless federal bureaucrats technically set the standards for all the schools in Massachusetts,” said Tantasqua Regional School District School Committee member James A. Cooke of Brookfield.

“I don’t think it’s in the best interests of the students at Tantasqua or even the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (to adopt the National Educational Standards). Massachusetts students fare better on classic achievement tests than students from any other state, so why would we want to go backward?”

At the Dec. 21 school committee meeting, Mr. Cooke made a motion to have the committee register its opposition to the state Board of Education’s decision and its desire to see the state reinstate the previous academic standards. The board agreed with his motion, which included raising the matter with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees at its annual meeting.

The Tantasqua Regional School District Committee submitted to the Massachusetts Association of School Committees a resolution written by Mr. Cooke, asking the Massachusetts Association of School Committees to “file legislation before the General Court to override the July 21, 2010 vote of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopting national education standards; i.e. the Common Core standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics, and furthermore, retain the MCAS assessment based on the state’s own curriculum frameworks as the standard for scholastic achievement in Massachusetts.”

The MCAS has been the standardized testing regimen used by the state since education reform in the 1990s.

Tantasqua committee member Michael J. Valanzola of Wales amended Mr. Cooke’s motion to include asking state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre; state Rep. Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer; and state Rep. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, to file legislation in the next session in opposition to the Common Core decision.

Mr. Valanzola said he doesn’t feel comfortable making “our kids in Massachusetts be the guinea pigs in a very untested policy.

“We have a system in Massachusetts under MCAS that, although it may not be perfect, has been a tested model that has been working for us for a significant period of time,” Mr. Valanzola said. “And my feelings are decisions related to education should be determined by state authorities and local authorities, because we best know how to educate our kids. And a one-size-fits-all policy offered up by the Obama administration that’s untested, that has no proven results attached to it, doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.”

The Tantasqua committee meets tomorrow night and, for its motion to be filed in legislation, the request has to filed and processed by 5 p.m. Friday. The three legislators have yet to receive Tantasqua’s request.

“If the request comes in and they ask us to file legislation and they have the language for us, of course we’ll file it,” Mr. Smola said. “If they give it to us on Wednesday, that’s fine. Even if they give it to us on Friday, that’s fine. But we need to be satisfied before we file it that it’s an official request, that it comes to us in the appropriate manner. We can’t file something on behalf of the committee if we don’t have verification that the committee actually voted on this, and this is what they want.”

Mr. Brewer said he will ask the Department of Education to talk to Tantasqua about the National Educational Standards.

“The Executive Office of Education says states choosing to adopt Common Core are able to customize 15 percent of the standards,” Mr. Brewer said. “In Massachusetts, our standard’s difference from the Common Core, the difference can be addressed with this 15 percent. This is what the Executive Office of Education is telling me, but I want them to convince Tantasqua.”

School Superintendent Daniel G. Durgin said he didn’t have the amended motion made by Mr. Valanzola in the minutes, nor in his recollection, but said there is certainly time to amend the motion and have it filed in time.

“Our districts have always been able to depend on your support and we are confident that you will continue to champion our cause for education when this resolution is presented at the MASC/MASS Joint Conference in November 2011,” the letter signed by Mr. Durgin concludes.

On Friday, Mr. Cooke and Mr. Valanzola found out that the letters sent to Mr. Brewer, Mr. Smola and Ms. Gobi did not contain Mr. Valanzola’s amended motion to file legislation.

“If that letter does not ask them to file legislation, than that letter does not represent my motion,” Mr. Valanzola said. “I will, Tuesday night, bring forward a motion to amend the minutes to actually reflect my amendment, and I will also bring forward a point of information to have the letter updated and resent.”

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